Guardianship - Minnesota Court Forms and Information

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Minnesota Courts

What is a Guardian?

A guardian is appointed by the court to make personal decisions for a person subject to guardianship. A guardian looks after the personal needs of someone.

How is a Guardian different from a Conservator?

A guardian makes personal decisions for the person subject to guardianship. A guardian protects the person. A conservator makes financial decisions for the person. A conservator protects the estate.

Who needs a Guardian?

Minors or incapacitated adults who do not have the understanding or can’t make or communicate responsible personal decisions.
People who can’t take care of their own needs for medical care, nutrition, clothing, shelter, or safety are also subject to guardianship.

The Minnesota Courts have forms and information (English only) about guardianship. The Courts do not publish form instructions for every form. See the Conservatorship & Guardianship Manual (English only) for information. You may need to speak to a lawyer to figure out which forms you need.

Download court forms:

Forms on the Courts website are organized in "packets" and by individual forms. Packets include form instructions and all individual forms. If you are not sure what form you need, start with the Packet and download each form in the packet as you need it.

Notice about Fillable Smart Forms
Some Minnesota court forms are “Fillable Smart Forms.” For information and help using Fillable Smart Forms, see Technical Support.

Setting up Guardianship for an Adult

Setting up Guardianship for a Minor

Terminating (ending) a Guardianship

A guardianship ends when:

The person subject to guardianship dies
The appointed guardian becomes incapacitated
The guardian is removed or resigns, or
The person subject to guardianship gets back their ability to function.

If you have a guardian or know someone who has a guardian but you do not think the guardian is needed anymore, you can file a petition with the court to ask that the guardianship be terminated.

You can find the forms you need to end a Guardianship here.

Emergency Guardianship

Emergency guardianship is granted for a specific amount of time. This is usually a short amount of time. Emergency guardianship is for when there is a risk of immediate danger to the personal safety of an incapacitated person. It is usually used to help protect the person from danger during the couple of weeks they need to wait for the standard application to process.

You can find the forms you need to file for emergency guardianship here.